Lyme Disease

[Hanneke]

Thanks Brummievet, will look into this.

Advocate, whilst a good all round worm, flea and mite prevention, has no action against ticks. You might want to consider a different critter control protocol if ticks are such a problem by you. Fipronil based products will work v ticks and treat fleas.

[rickykendall]

Lyme disease (Lyme borrelosis) is an infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria. I have not faced this type of condition actually.

[Hanneke]

Bit of an update... I was eventually symptom free last July. I then tore my meniscus beginning of august, which resulted in the usual being fobbed off for months. Saw a consultant end of November, had two MRIs, operation end of January. Lyme arthritis has worn away the whole of my right knee.
I have also had two operations on my jaw, due to bone resorption and am left with severe degeneration of the cervical spine.

I am slowly gaining functionality of the knee and some semblance of quality of life.

That is 2.5 years and counting. I need one more op, but I have postponed it for now, as I dearly like to feel well for a bit...

[that_fjell_guy]

Blimey Hanneke I didn't realise you'd been/were so unwell! Hope all goes well for the future. How much do you get out on the bike(s). I was under the impression you cycled a lot!

[molehill]

Hanneke, so sorry to hear about all your problems. I knew you were bad last year but everything seems to have gone from bad to worse - I thought you had been quiet for a while but imagined you were back cycling hard , how wrong could I be.

Hope it all comes back together this year and whatever you do don't "push it", accept you will only slowly gain your health and strength back but it will come with time and patience, just enjoy being out again when you can.
Good luck for the future.

[PeteS]

Advocate, whilst a good all round worm, flea and mite prevention, has no action against ticks. You might want to consider a different critter control protocol if ticks are such a problem by you. Fipronil based products will work v ticks and treat fleas.

The hound is on advocate at the moment. Any issue with using fipronil as well?
Generally ticks aren't too much of a problem where we normally run but planning on taking him up the lakes, dales and cheviots over the summer so some protection is in order.

[brummievet]

Hi PeteS. Shouldn't be a problem using Fipronil too. Generally we advise leaving 2 weeks between each product just to be safe (although this would be classed as off-license). I use advocate on my own dog and if going to tick areas I have used Advantix with 2 weeks between it and Advocate, which is what Bayer, the manufacturer, recommended to us. I would seriously consider using the Serestro collar now though, which can be used alongside Advocate, as it has been shown to repel ticks. Fipronil products require the tick to bite to work (so means Borrelia etc can still be transmitted). If you don't want to leave a collar on then I would consider advantix over fipronil as there is some evidence it is a better repellant. Always worth taking an O-Tom tick remover too and a good check of him at the end of each day!

Hanneke, I'm so sorry to hear about your illness. I hope you get some semblance of normality now.

[PeteS]

Hi PeteS. Shouldn't be a problem using Fipronil too. Generally we advise leaving 2 weeks between each product just to be safe (although this would be classed as off-license). I use advocate on my own dog and if going to tick areas I have used Advantix with 2 weeks between it and Advocate, which is what Bayer, the manufacturer, recommended to us. I would seriously consider using the Serestro collar now though, which can be used alongside Advocate, as it has been shown to repel ticks. Fipronil products require the tick to bite to work (so means Borrelia etc can still be transmitted). If you don't want to leave a collar on then I would consider advantix over fipronil as there is some evidence it is a better repellant. Always worth taking an O-Tom tick remover too and a good check of him at the end of each day.

Cheers for the advice - will look into it. Always have a dog first aid kit in the campervan which includes a tick removal tool. Thankfully not had to use it yet but we both get a thorough once over after a run through tick infested areas.
Hanneke, I hope you get back to fitness soon. Thanks for your posts - you have managed to put a positive spin on what can only have been a terrible experience for you by raising awareness for others. A noble thing to do.

[Chris K]

Hanneke, as above thank you for the update, that is another tough deal you've been dealt. It would make a valuable 'wakeup' article in the Fellrunner to remind us all how devastating these little pests can be to an individual. Hope you get some semblance of normality through this year.
Also, thank you Brummievet, we've just been having a discussion on dosing our Beagles before the next Scottish trip as the ticks are rising at the moment.

[Rob Furness]

... It would make a valuable 'wakeup' article in the Fellrunner to remind us all how devastating these little pests can be to an individual. Hope you get some semblance of normality through this year.

Actually I think that's a fantastic idea. That sort of information would be very helpful.